Operation AUNT
by Enya Talisman
Summary: Nico is absolutely sick of seeing Nozomi and Umi making their own lives so awkward, so with the help of Muse (minus the duo) they aim to give them a hard kick towards each other. The only thing Nico needs to worry is this; whether Operation AUNT work out between the densest duo ever.
Nozomi: Heya! Okay so because Umi-chan's a little busy I'll be talking a lot more yan! Um... What can I talk about though...? Oh yeah, Elichi's dating Honoka-chan, Nicocchi is dating Rin-chan and Maki-chan is dating Hanayo-chan! As for Kotori-chan... well she isn't dating anyone but I do know that she liked someone prior to their birth of their relationship... So yeah! Umi-chan would get mad if I don't start now, bye bye! Remember, Enya-chan doesn't own anything!

XXXXXX

"Oh my _god_ , Nozomi is so fucking dense." Nico commented as she and Eli observed Nozomi's chat with Umi.

"So is Umi, but how could we blame them? They don't know how love is like." Eli responded, turning to face Nico. "You're pretty dense too Nico."

"At least I'm better than you and Honoka. My god, you two are boxheads!"

"Then what about those two?" Nico paused for a moment to think, before replying the ex-student council president.

"Brickheads."

"Then you and Rin?"

"Plasticheads?"

"Maki and Hanayo?"

"Rice and tomato?"

"Elichi, what are you two talking about?" Nozomi had noticed Eli and Nico playfully bantering at one corner and decided to approach them.

"Nothing, just that tomatoes taste well with rice." Nico replied, giving a half-hearted wave to Umi.

"Do they? I have to ask Hanayo-chan about that later... Anyways Nicocchi, shouldn't you go find Rin-chan to play with?"

"Hahaha no. Rin's studying with Maki-chan and Hanayo. Eli here is kind enough to give me and Honoka tuition."

"Yeah, we'll be going off to find Honoka. Enjoy your chat with Umi, bye." Eli whisked Nico off to a corner hidden behind a pillar.

"We need to get them laid ASAP." Nico pointed out, staring intently at Nozomi. "And here I thought the songs Umi writes are sexual enough..."

"Apparently those sexual songs like 'Kaguya no Shiro de Odoritai' and 'WILD STARS' are written by Kotori..."

"Seriously?! I thought she's one of the more innocent ones..."

"She's probably the most impure one among the nine of us..."

"Sheesh. Eli, call the rest for a meeting. We're gonna set them up once and for all." Nico walked off, leaving Eli behind to carry out the tasks demanded of her.

XXXXXX

"Riceball, are you here?" Nico asked, turning to face Hanayo.

"R-Riceball here...?" Hanayo replied, not clear on what was the purpose of the code names when all Nico needed to do was to scan the clubroom to cheack if all required members are present.

"Kitty?"

"Here nya~" Rin raised her hand enthusiastically, a bright smile on her face which made up for her unusually hoarse voice.

"Rin, do you have a sore throat?" Eli asked, concerned for Rin's health. Rin flinched slightly before replying the choreographer.

"Y-Yeah! R-Rin has a bad sore throat nya..." Hanayo decided to say nothing about Rin's perfect health during school hours, not wanting to put her best friend and fellow idol otaku in a spot.

"Okay then, Honks?"

"Honk honk!" Honoka replied, her enthusiasm matching Rin's.

"Harasho?"

"Of course I'm here Nico..." Eli sighed in response, glaring at Nico for the obvious question.

"Okay then, Kotori?"

"Um... Why am I the only one without a code name...?" Kotori asked, feeling slightly left out.

"Cause your name literally means bird. Okay last of all, tomato?"

"Maki-chan has class duty so she would be running late." Hanayo explained, a smile on her face. "Anyways Nico-chan, what did you call us for?"

"And shouldn't we get Nozomi-chan and Umi-chan?" Honoka asked, surprised that Umi and Nozomi weren't present.

"Because, Honoka, this meeting is to get them together." Nico replied curtly, slamming her fists on the table. "I'm sick of Nozoboob to act so coy around Umi. Those stupid dense brickheads..."

"Nico is right, this has been allowed to go on for far too long." Eli stood up, supporting Nico's stance towards the problem at hand.

"Finally nya! Those two are making sub-unit practices awkward nya!"

"How so Rin-chan?"

"Well Kotori-chan... They're always talking with blushes on their faces! It's driving Rin crazy nyaaaaaa!"

"Oh yeah! I was planning to hook Umi-chan up with Kotori-chan-"

"H-Huuuuuuh?!"

"-but it makes more sense that Umi-chan likes Nozomi-chan! You know, she was talking a lot about Nozomi-chan, saying that she would want to hang out with Nozomi-chan some time soon!"

"And Umi can't realise that she likes Nozoboob...? Impossible..." Nico sighed to herself, taking a seat on her 'presidents only' chair.

"Nozomi also talks a lot about Umi. She thinks that Umi's figure is enviable, her hair is 'so silky smooth', 'eyes like a full moon' and so on." Eli revealed, shaking her head slightly.

"You know what?!" Nico yelled, grabbing everyone's attention. "Operation 'Achieve UmiNozo Together' AKA Operation AUNT is in action!"

"Operation AUNT...? Are you messing with me Nico?"

"Shut it Eli, who's with me?!"

"Fucking finally, I'm in for getting the two damn brickheads together!" Maki shouted, slamming the clubroom door open. Everyone stared in shock as they processed Maki's usage of foul language.

"What?! Just start Operation AUNT already!"

XXXXXX

"Okay first of all, we'll need Honks and Kotori to lure Umi to the roof so that she can spend some time with Nozomi. Also Kotori, we need you to plant the topic of love in Umi's head. I don't care how the hell do you do it, just make sure she's a blushing mess." Nico ordered Honoka and Kotori, turning to the first-years next.

"As for the three of you, I want you guys to guard the door leading to the roof in case some blundering idiots try to mess our plan up. Tomato, you'll secure the roof first before joining up with RinPana. Eli, you'll get Nozomi up to the damn roof."

"Nico, what are _you_ going to do?" Eli asked, realising that the one barking out orders was the only one without any duties to do.

"Me? I have to ensure that no Umi-fan tries to distract Umi's path up to the roof. I'll need Honoka's help for this so once you're done, meet me in the clubroom."

"Aye aye Nico-chan!" Honoka did a mock salute before skipping back to her classroom. The rest nodded slightly as they went back to their respective classrooms for their lessons.

"Hey Nico... You know that Nozomi's really perceptive about these stuff right...?" Eli stated, facing Nico. Nico shrugged as she imitated Nozomi, even going to lengths to fake a (very lame) Kansai accent.

"Elichi? Why do you need me to come to the roof with you yan? Oh I know! Elichi wants to confess her undying love to me, isn't that right yan?" Nico ended her sentence in a cute tone, smirking devilishly. However, Eli simply gaped at her and... was she trembling?!

"Look, I know I'm such a good Nozomi but there's no need to react like _that_..."

"B-Behind you..." Eli choked out, taking a step back as Nico whirled around, only to come face to face with the original.

"N-Nozomi?!" Nico gasped as she leapt back, making Nozomi frown. "W-What's up...?"

"What did you just say just now Nicocchi?" Nozomi asked, taking a step forward. Nico and Eli shuddered as they both tried to formulate a plan to save themselves and their first part of the operation.

"I-I... Gah, fine! You win Eli, I'm sorry for teasing you just now!" Nico sighed in exasperation, apologising to Eli while making eye contact to ask the latter to play along. Thankfully, Eli was smart enough to grasp the hint.

"It's fine, I'm just glad that you understand my concerns. But still..."

"What's going on Elichi?" Nozomi asked, confused by the situation.

"Um Nozomi... There's something that I need to tell you... But I can only do so during lunch break as there are too many people here... Could you meet up with me on top at the roof?" Eli muttered, clenching on to her skirt tightly.

"Hey Eli, don't you have some shit to do with Honoka later?" Nico questioned, beads of sweat rolling down her forehead as she prayed hard that the lie would not be expose by a nosy Nozomi.

"I was about to get to that. I would be a little late, but please wait for me up there once break starts! I'll do my best to come up as fast as possible!" Eli dismissed Nico, a hesitant look on Nozomi's face. "Nozomi... You won't judge me later right...?"

"Of course not Elichi. I'll bring my lunch up to the roof then, take your time Elichi. I'll be waiting yan~" Nozomi tried easing the atmosphere by using her Kansai accent, which added on to the grimness on Eli's face.

"Oi Eli, you coming?" Nico asked as she started to follow Nozomi back to their classroom. Eli nodded slightly as she increased her pace to catch up with Nozomi and Nico.

While Nozomi wasn't looking, Eli and Nico both winked to show their success in tricking Nozomi up to the roof.

XXXXXX

"Hey Umi-chan, do you have anyone that you like?" Kotori asked, her words straight to the point. Umi blushed furiously before admonishing Kotori's question.

"Kotori! That's a shameless question, you shouldn't be asking in public!"

"But do you? I mean, even I have someone that I like." Kotori smiled, her amber eyes narrowed to slits. "Won't you tell me?"

"I-I... I d-don't think I do..." Umi replied shakily, uncomfortable with the conversation.

"What about Nozomi-chan?" Honoka had entered the conversation, directly asking Umi about her supposed love interest. Umi blushed a shade redder as she hastily replied Honoka's opinion with a vehemence of her own.

"N-N-No! I-I-I d-d-do _not_ think of Nozomi i-i-in such a... l-l-lewd way!"

"Who said about sexual thoughts?" Honoka grinned, having cornered Umi into her trap. _'Luckily Kotori-chan was here to weaken Umi-chan's guard...'_

"Not you, that's for sure Honoka-chan. Umi-chan, it's okay. You can tell us about who you like." Kotori reassured Umi, flashing her signature Minalinsky smile.

"I-I-I... I don't know... I-I-I mean, I-I-I do dream about Nozomi n-n-n-"

"Naked?" Honoka helpfully suggested, causing an Umi to faceslam her head on the table. "Am I wrong?"

"N-No you aren't... but couldn't you be less... crude?"

"Well we want to help you as fast as possible..."

"Tell us, what _do_ you... admire about Nozomi-chan?" Kotori used 'admire' so as to prevent another faceslam from Umi.

"I admire her gentle side when she cares for the flowers in the flowed bed... And her motherly side when she cares for Muse, especially when I'm at loggerheads with Nico. Oh and I want to know about her fragile side a bit more... There are a lot of things really, it's hard to just list one..."

"You're definitely in love with Nozomi-chan." Kotori concluded, smiling at Umi a tad too sweetly.

"Duh! It's kinda obvious isn't it?"

"A-Anyways Kotori, it isn't fair that I told you about who I liked but you not telling me yours!" Umi reminded Kotori about what she had said earlier, even Honoka looked surprised.

"W-Waaaaait a minute! Kotori-chan, you actually like someone?! It's not your mom like what the rumours are saying right?!"

"N-No! That's disturbing, plus mom likes Maki-chan's mother..."

"I've figured. So, when are you gonna tell me?" Umi asked, relentlessly chasing Kotori for her answer.

"Hmm... How about during lunch up at the roof? I'll be a little late though, have to help Kayo-chan with something urgent! Honoka-chan, you can't come with us okay?"

"Aw man!" Honoka whined, but knew that Kotori told her not to was to carry out the operation successfully.

"Alright then, I shall meet you up there once lunch starts." Umi agreed, making Kotori and Honoka chuckle. "W-What's so funny...?"

"Ah no, we're just happy that you told us about it! It just shows the bond the three of us share!" Honoka replied, a silly grin still plastered on to her face even though the teacher for the next lesson has entered the classroom.

XXXXXX

"Tomato to Nico, I repeat, Tomato to Nico, Washi just went up to the roof." Maki spoke through her handphone, observing Nozomi entering the roof.

"Good, monitor whether anyone other than those two enter the roof." Nico replied, looking around to stop any Umi-fans.

"Roger." Maki didn't end the call, for she would need to report back to Nico sooner or later.

"Maki-chan's taking this seriously nyaaa..." Rin whispered to Hanayo, who was looking through a set of binoculars. "Kayo-chin, not you too..."

"We don't want to make lily white meetings awkward, it's for your sake..." Hanayo replied as she focused on a corner where she spotted Umi approaching the staircase to the roof. "Tomato, Umi's here!"

"Tomato to Nico, I repeat, Tomato to Nico, Umi's heading up too." Maki reported, giving Umi a minute while hearing the closing sound of the door. "Rin, take my spot. I'll guard the door."

"E-Ehhhh..." Rin sighed but did what she was told. Maki went up to the door and locked it, leaning on it so that she would prevent any of those two escaping.

"I'll take over, Rin. Go back and help Hanayo." Eli appeared before Rin, immediately relieving Rin of Maki's role. "Yeah Nico? Maki's guarding the door, it's safe."

"Great, I'm actually up on the roof to monitor them. If things go south, we can learn from there. I'm turning my cell off so don't bother contacting me." With that, Nico switched off her handphone, monitoring the NozoUmi duo from a safe distance. She then felt a soft tap on her shoulder, startling Nico slightly.

"Sorry Nico-chan, I figured you could use some help with monitoring their chat." Kotori apologised, staring intently at the duo in front of them.

"Ah Umi-chan, why are you up here?" Nozomi asked, surprised to see Umi instead of Eli.

"I should be the one asking you that same question." Umi replied, equally surprised to see Nozomi on the roof.

"Oh Elichi wanted to tell me something important. You?"

"Kotori promised me to tell me of her crush."

"You have a crush?" Nico whispered to Kotori, who was eerily silent. "I have a bad feeling about this Kotori..."

"Ah I see. I think Elichi will come up soon. While we're waiting for them, why don't we chat a little?" Nozomi suggested, a light blush on her face. _'S-Should I tell her?'_

"Sure, what would you like to talk about?" Umi asked, flashing a quick smile at her senior. This sent Nozomi's heart into a frenzy, a blush sported across her face as she sat there flabbergasted at Umi's (trivial) action.

"U-Um... Y'know Umi-chan, you're really popular in school right?" Nozomi started off, calming herself down with a few deep breaths. _'A-After all those consultations with A-RISE, I will tell her how I feel!'_

"... Yeah, what about them?" Umi raised an eyebrow, casting a curious glance at Nozomi. _'I wonder if this is a good time to tell her that I like her... A-At least according to Honoka and Kotori that is!'_

"I'm sure that you like one of those fans right?" Nozomi instantly cursed at herself for uttering those words. _'How could I be so foolish?! Now this is what I call a bad time to confess...'_

"I-I uh..." Umi mentally panicked, she didn't know how to phrase her response in way that would prevent her mischief-loving senior from teasing her. _'S-Should I tell her about my feelings towards her?'_

"What the hell are those two saying..." Nico grumbled, she could hear the conversation from where she was and the conversation was going downhill just as she had predicted. "Just say what you 'admire' about each other y- oh fuck, Umi noticed us!"

"What?!" Kotori raised her head, only to see Umi having a pleading expression on her face. "S-Should we help her?!"

"Oh I don't know! Do whatever you want Kotori!" Nico snapped, frustrated at the turn of events.

"O-Okay!" Kotori then made a heart shape with her hands, in hopes that the usually clueless Umi would get the hint. Umi stiffly nodded before returning to Nozomi, who had a displeased expression on her face after realising Nico and Kotori's presence.

"N-N-Nozomi!" Umi started, grabbing Nozomi's full attention.

"Y-Yes?" Nozomi blushed, knowing that if what she saw was right, Umi would...

"I-I love you! G-G-Go out w-w-with m-m-me!" Umi sputtered out, bowing deeply while she was confessing.

"U-Umi-chan...?" Nozomi was embarrassed, yet absolutely delighted that her desire to start a relationship with Umi was fulfilled. _'U-Umi-chan likes me back right? Thank you Nicocchi and Kotori-chan! I don't have to play the dense girl anymore!'_

"W-What did Nozomi say...?" Nico mumbled, not wanting to 'intrude' on the duo any longer.

"Nozomi-chan's kissing Umi-chan." Kotori simply commented, for some reason covering Nico's eyes.

"Hah?! Get your hands off me!"

"Y-You're too young to see this!"

"SCREW YOU KOTORI!"

"You two, are you guys done with your comedy act?" Nozomi had appeared beside the spying duo, sending shivers down their spines.

"A-Ahaha... You've found us Nozomi-chan..." Kotori laughed awkwardly trying her best to escape but was prevented from doing so by Umi. "Umi-chan?!"

"Kotori, let's go to the clubroom." Umi simply said, leading Kotori to the door where they found Maki behind it. "You too Maki?!"

"We're busted guys." Maki called out, revealing the other idols hidden behind various parts that lead to the rooftop. They all made their way back to the clubroom, not noticing the absence of two idols.

Meanwhile, Nico was left at the mercy of Nozomi who was out to washi washi her.

XXXXXX

"Whaaaaaaaat?! You mean Captain wasn't a brickhead nya?!" Rin exclaimed, shocked to hear that Nozomi was aware of her feelings towards Umi the whole time.

"Not exactly Rin-chan. I consulted A-RISE about these unknown feelings when I was in Akiba." Nozomi explained, a sheepish grin on her face.

"You fooled me and Nico well." Eli conceded, eyeing the fallen 'number one idol in the whole universe'. "And you sure groped her well too..."

"But why did you want to pretend that you were unaware?" Maki twirled her hair, looking away from Nozomi. "N-Not that I was particularly concerned about you two!"

"I didn't want to make myself so obvious y'know... I... didn't know how to face Umi-chan with my actual state..."

"Welp! Seems like Operation AUNT is a major success!" Honoka had a thumbs-up, looking over to Kotori excitedly. "Kotori-chan, tell me all the juicy details later!"

"Kotori, _don't_." Umi warned, glaring at Honoka menacingly. "You stay out of my affairs Honoka."

"Operation AUNT wasn't a 'major' success. All those plans to get them together, ruined by a Nozomi." Nico lamented, hugging her chest protectively. "I actually planned out phases two, three and four too..."

"You sound excited to get them together..." Hanayo pointed out, pitying Nico's current state.

"Anyway guys, now that we're all dating let's go for a group date nyaaaa!" Rin suggested, a proud smile on her face for having such a brilliant idea... which was shot down instantly by Umi.

"Kotori isn't dating anyone. How can we have a group date without her?"

"Oh right..." Eight pair of eyes turned to Kotori, who had a surprised expression.

"Me? Oh no, you guys can have a group date without me! Don't worry~" Kotori reassured them, a gentle smile on her face.

"Well, if you say so Kotori-chan. Eli-chan, wanna hang out at my place today?"

"I don't mind Honoka. We'll be making a move first then." Eli and Honoka left, leaving the seven of them behind.

"Hanayo, want to have dinner at my place? My parents are out and you mentioned that you wanted to show me how a complete rice meal looks like?"

"Okay! Do you have at least 30 kilos of rice?"

"T-That much...? L-Let's stop by the supermarket first..."

"Can we join you? We need to get some meat-"

"And ramen nya!"

"-for our dinner over at my place."

"Sure, let's go together then." With that, Hanayo and Maki left the clubroom while Rin dragged Nico out since she was still hurting all over.

"Nozomi, is it all right if I stay over for the night at your place? My parents are out on vacation and it'll be lonesome if I'm by myself..." Umi asked Nozomi, a blush across her face.

"You sure are hasty! But yeah, I live alone anyways. You're okay with meat right?" Nozomi agreed, heading for the door. "Shall we go?"

"Give me a moment, there's something that I need to ask Kotori about."

"Okay then, see you later Kotori-chan!" Nozomi exited the room, leaving Kotori alone with Umi. Kotori fidgeted around nervously, clearly uncomfortable with what Umi was about to say.

"Kotori, may I know who do you like?" Kotori stopped fidgeting, giving into the reality she had to face after admitting that she had someone she liked. "I think it's only fair that you tell me since I ended up telling you about Nozomi."

"Why do you want to know so badly though?" Umi blinked, Kotori's eyes were unnerving. Never in her life did she see Kotori with such an expression, scariness was never associated with Kotori.

"I want to help you. It's only fair that I do, since you've helped me out with Nozomi."

"Even if it'll cause a disastrous conclusion?"

"Kotori, what are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that my love is an unrequited love."

"Still, at least tell me who. Wouldn't you feel better if you had someone to share this... burden with?" Umi tried parcelling her words as carefully as she could.

"Are you sure Umi-chan? You're my best friend, I don't want you to be saddled with such unhappiness."

"Such woe doesn't suit you Kotori. Please, I want to be saddled with it if you would allow me."

"We make good actresses, don't we?" Kotori laughed, diffusing the tension between the two of them.

"We do indeed. But really, why don't you want to tell me about it? Or Honoka, she'll definitely hear you out since she's also our best friend..." Upon hearing Honoka's name, Kotori cast her eyes down at the floor.

"She isn't my best friend Umi-chan..." Kotori replied softly, shocking Umi. Kotori then hastily left the clubroom, not before uttering an explanation.

"She's my unrequited crush."

XXXXXX

Umi: This is indeed a tricky situation for me to solve... Due to certain reasons, this story will end here. However, the next story featuring Kotori and someone who's in the same boat as her (I'm positive that you can guess who). One last thing, this story was **not** meant to be so dramatic at the end, which is why this story still retains a humour tag. Thank you for reading all the way to the end and please read the second part (which will be uploaded at the same time as this) for Kotori's side of events.


End file.
